The Dance of Leaves
by Milka-Weasley
Summary: Her unconditional faith in him... and his strange dream. The friendship of two children, oblivious to the future that lies ahead. Oneshot about Severus Snape and Lily Evans.


**Disclaimer: **JKR has invented the magical world of Harry Potter. Thank God for that.**  
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**Author's Notes: **Hey, hey, what is wrong with me? Why am I writing? I haven't been writing for soooo long, and now - two stories in two days? I must be going down with the flu or having a concussion. Either way, here's a new ficcie. Oneshot, again. Only this time, you will be spending time with young Severus Snape and Lily Evans. Read away and grant me with a word or two saying what you think. Thank you and have a good read.

**Summary:** Her lively nature. His seriousness. Her unconditional faith in him. His strange dream. The friendship of two children, oblivious to the future that lies ahead. OneShot about Severus Snape and Lily Evans.

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**The Dance of Leaves**

He sat near the Great Lake, absorbed in his deep thoughts, lukewarm about the world around him. Every now and then, a dry leaf or two would fly right past him, but they didn't seem to be worthy of his attention. His thoughts appeared to be way too precious for him to notice something as trivial as the signs of the nearing autumn.

'Hi, friend,' she whispered in his ear, making him shiver unnoticeably. Pretending he didn't hear her creeping behind his back, he jerked slightly on purpose. The strong, pleasant scent of her recently washed hair filled his nostrils, spread through his body and froze his mind for a moment. Enjoying the tantalizing smell of her shampoo mixed with the light aroma of her body lotion, he somehow managed to pull himself together.

'Hey,' he muttered hoarsely, facing her green, piercing eyes. 'You took me by surprise.'

She laughed triumphantly. 'Mission accomplished. You looked as though you weren't breathing - so still, so stern, so far, far away from reality. Really got me worried for a second there. Where d'ya travel to in your thoughts? Tell your best friend.'

'Nowhere, really,' he answered, his dark eyebrows wrinkling so close together that it seemed as though they had become one long, black, fury line. 'Stayed inside the Hogwarts grounds.'

'Hmmm...' she frowned, trying to figure out what he could have been thinking about. 'I know! Must be somebody from school.'

'No!' his response sounded rushed and panicky.

'Oh, Sev!' she said, mischievous smile spreading across her face. 'You don't sound convincing at all! I have no choice but to presume you were thinking about a girl, even though your expression seemed grave and tormented. Then again, you're always so serious. She must be giving you a hard time, is that corre-'

'No, Lily,' Severus said, sounding almost threatening. '_Don't_.'

'But, Sev, if you're in _love_-'

'Stop it.'

'Tell me, then,' she demanded.

'Tell you what?'

'Who invaded your thoughts.'

'Why are you so sure it's a person?' he snapped against his will, his body tense and teeth gritted. The vein on his forehead started to pulse, but he took a deep breath and gave his best to lower the tone of his voice. 'It was a _spell_, Lily. I was thinking of a new spell, I was creating it at the moment you came and it is so difficult. That's why I was concentrating so hard. I honestly don't know how you always come up with such romantic stories for everything that happens around you. Not all in life is about love, not everything is based on a fairytale.'

'I know that, Sev,' she said softly, her smile wiped off her lips. 'I wasn't born yesterday. Didn't mean to upset you. I was just having some fun.'

'Well, don't. I am not in love, I was not thinking about a girl, nor do I have intentions of doing that any time soon. Girls are so tiresome and boring and-'

'Is that right, mister?' she said, sounding slightly hurt. 'I'm a girl too; therefore it must mean I'm tiring you as well, huh?'

'No, not you, Lily,' he answered quickly. 'You'd never bore me. Not in a million years from now, not _ever_.'

Chuckling proudly to herself, she offered him her hand in a sort of a mockingly solemn, formal way. 'Good answer. Best friends again?'

As his shoulders relaxed and the vein on his forehead stopped throbbing, he was quite close to forming a smile, but it didn't happen. He simply seemed a lot younger than usual, which meant he looked as though he really was twelve, which was a rare occasion.

'We've never stopped being best friends,' he said earnestly as he gently shook her hand. Feeling his palm sweating, he hastily drew out of the handshake. 'This wasn't even a fight. In fact, let's pretend it hasn't even happened.'

Lily nodded in agreement, beaming. 'That's the Sev I love!'

He didn't say anything. He just stood there, Lily's words still echoing in his head.

'So, tell me, which spell did you invent today?'

'Hmm?' he seemed distracted for a second. 'Oh, well, I didn't. It was one of my first attempts. Didn't go that well, though. Think I'll be needing more skills before I succeed.'

'Piece of cake for you,' she said matter-of-factly. 'It won't be long before you do it. You're a fine wizard, Sev. I believe in you.'

Her sincere faith worked like magic for him. That very evening, after a few persistent, stubborn attempts, he managed to complete his first spell. He was lucky to have her, Lily Evans, as his best friend. As long as she was there, he didn't need anyone else. She brought out the best in him, making everything seem so easy, so doable, so accessible.

Relishing the fruits of his hard work, Severus swore to himself that he would never turn his back on her, never let her go.

He was right not to tell her it was her who he had been thinking about that morning. It was her he had thought about most of the time, actually. Nevertheless, she didn't need to know that insignificant little detail. It would only spoil everything, he was sure of that. He made the right choice, skirting round the truth.

Later that night, after he had gone to bed, Severus had a strange dream about two leaves rising together up in the sky, carried by a light breeze. They twirled, intertwined, chased each other, danced in the air, and then a strong wind came, separating them at once. The first leaf continued to soar up towards the clouds and the other one began to drop fast until it hit the ground, the pair secluded forever.

In the morning, he told himself that the dream didn't mean anything, that the leaves he had dreamt about were only the obvious hint of the autumn that was just around the corner.

His Divination book had a different take on his dream, but Severus had never bothered consulting it. Why should he? It was all bunch of nonsense. Dreams didn't mean anything, they couldn't foreshadow, predict or warn. A beautiful day with his best friend was ahead of him and that was all that mattered. Who cared about two stupid, desiccated leaves hopping through his mind?

The truth was, Severus could hardly wait to tell Lily all about the previous night's events; how he had finally succeeded in inventing a spell of his own, how incredible it was to be able to make something out of nothing, how powerful it had made him feel. He was looking forward to seeing her heartfelt excitement and the ever-so-familiar smile of content when he would have finished his story, feeling her thrilled pat on his back, her saying she was convinced he had had it in him all along.

The dream was forgotten the moment his black eyes met Lily's. He never dreamt anything similar again.


End file.
